


How Did We Get Here?

by SerpentineFxrtune



Series: The Six [2]
Category: Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Genre: Abuse of Power, Aelia Taran has never seen the sky, Aelia Taran is eleven years old here, Alien Character(s), Alien Culture, Arakna is an arachnid because her antenna are technically limbs, Attempted Murder, Bunkers, Child scientists, Electrokinesis, Gundalia is a subterranean planet so that makes sense, I mean gundalians aren't human so I guess those tags are accurate, Kazarina is a mad scientist, Major Original Character(s), Mind Control, Original Character(s), Other, Portals to other worlds, Prodigies, Science Fiction, alien term for cats, attempted child murder, book heirloom, book is important, distant aunt, fictional chemicals, fictional experiments, fictional measurement of temperature, five stages of grief go by really quickly, loss of opportunities, non-canon locations, physical modifications, planetary variant, where are Aelia Taran's parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerpentineFxrtune/pseuds/SerpentineFxrtune
Summary: A year after the cards fell on Earth, and two years before Masquerade makes himself a problem, something else fell to Earth. Minutes prior, elsewhere, the explanation (as to how the other thing that fell to earth even got there in the first place) occurs.
Series: The Six [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986178
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	How Did We Get Here?

**Author's Note:**

> I torture Aelia but its so her fluffier moments become softer as a result. Acts as a partial explanation for Aelia being immediately on Neathia's side of the Neathia-Gundalia war, when it arrives on her doorstep later on, despite being gundalian. I'm posting this earlier than I would've otherwise, because it's pretty important to Aelia's character.

On a dusty day in Gundalia’s late summer, a letter was delivered.

_ Dr. A. Taran, _

_ Navette Bunker, _

_ Demant city, _

_ BH-161902. _

The little recipient blinked confusedly; she rarely got letters, let alone deliveries, that didn’t go to her lab. After being informed that the parcel had already been taken to her room, Aelia thanked the receptionist. She padded off towards her rooms, feeling ever so tiny in the long halls. Several people, mostly other kids who had to stay in the bunker for various reasons, lived here. Aelia can't remember the last time she saw one of her neighbours in the bunker, though.

Aelia entered her rooms, and set the letter down on the desk. The young gundalian disappeared into a side room, which she shut behind her for privacy. Arakna, Aelia’s partnered guardian, and acting parental guardian, hopped down from her makeshift nest. Arakna crawled forwards, the arachnid inspecting the letter’s handwritten address, and unfortunately, she couldn’t place the handwriting as anyone’s, at least out of the gundalians she knew.

Aelia returned from the side room, and petted Arakna on the head as she approached to pick up the letter.

“I couldn’t recognise the handwriting,” Arakna input, as Aelia slipped a claw under the envelope’s opening.

“Really?”

“Mhm. No clue who sent it.”

Aelia hummed in mild worry, “I hope it’s something nice then…” The envelope opened smoothly. She grabbed the letter from inside, discarding the envelope, and read;

**_Dear Aelia,_ **

**_I know we haven’t seen each other often, but I found a particular book your dad wanted for you to have; The parcel this letter is tied to has the book inside, along with a birthday present._ **

**_The book itself is a book of experiments that our family, the Tarans, never got around to publishing, for various reasons. I don’t expect you to test any out for yourself, but I do recommend trying out pg. 342’s experiment- with the resources you can get from under the Emperor, I doubt it’d be hard to replicate, and it sounds like something that you’d be interested in. I left a bookmark for that page in particular there._ **

**_If you ever have experiments and discoveries you’d rather not publish, for safety or any other reason, do not hesitate to write it down in the book, and don’t forget to describe it._ **

**_I hope you enjoy yourself!_ **

**_Love,_ **

**_Aunt Iria_ **

Aelia gasped excitedly. Immediately after giving the letter to Arakna, she began to open the parcel in a mini frenzy of happiness. Finding a handmade stuffed animal, a stylised gundalian panthera, Aelia squealed lovingly. She cuddled the black, multi textured toy, finding its floppy limbs to be entertaining as she danced around in joy.

Arakna, content to let her gundalian snuggle her belated present, leapt onto the book, crawling around the box to figure out roughly how heavy the book was, “You know, I think they thought it was too heavy for you to carry; it’s a huge thing!”

“Oh,” Aelia tapped her way over, discarding her panthera plush, affectionately dubbed Trinket, to check out the main delivery. Aelia reached in and lifted. It was heavy, yes, but she could at least carry it. Then, she had an idea, “Hey, maybe we should take it to the lab? It’s packed with experiments we’ve probably never heard about before! I wanna try the electro one out!!”

“Of course, Sweet.” Arakna chirped.

Aelia grinned, hoisted her bag over her shoulder, and padded to the labs.

* * *

“ID?”

Rustle, rustle… Her card was handed to the guard, who looked at it momentarily, before gasping in realisation.

“Ah. Dr. Taran, welcome back!” The guard chirped, unable to see much thanks to the visor. She thought it looked a little goofy, like bug eyes that were trying to be scary. Aelia grinned, cheeping happily, and entered her lab, hooves clacking against the marble floor.

Aelia placed her book on her private desk, and flipped through until she got to the bookmark. Page 342, Electrokinesis Enhancement…

**_Prepare a well ventilated area, extra clothes, and a towel. Prepare, in a Vestal Steel drum to fit the person, leaving their head out of the mixture, a bath of liquid Malanyi (to half the drum. All percentages calculated from weight of liquid Malanyi), of;_ **

  * **_Green Carrillion 5%_**
  * **_Alkaline Nihalas 15%_**
  * **_Jyrosean Acid 40%_**
  * **_Longfly Scale powder 10%_**
  * **_Titanium Xihenate 5%_**
  * **_Lanvenite powder 15%_**



**_Heat gently on blue flame until the solution is 50t. Stir constantly while heating is done. Allow to cool down to room temperature, before allowing the person to enter the drum._ **

**_Soak in solution for 10 minutes. Rinse off in cold water for 10 minutes at least to guarantee the excess solution has been washed off. The procedure will have gone smoothly if the skin peels off in the person’s skin colour. If the skin peels off red (grey) or purple (blue), then the person must rinse themselves in cold water until the peels go to the person’s skin colour._ **

Aelia hummed, and ordered for the preparations to be done, heading off to get a change of clothes in preparation for the experiment. Arakna slipped into a vent, rolling her way into the enclosure at the end. Arakna, content with the space's size, assumed her full form. It was nice being carried around, granted, but there was something great about being able to move so freely. Her ball form just wasn’t as versatile as others.

Stretching out her four legs, two arms, and two antennae, Arakna yawned. She really hadn't been out of her ball form for ages. Arakna padded her feet around, checking the flatness of the floor beneath her, and sat down. A few seconds later, green feathers descended nearby, a warning of something to come. Arakna slowly blinked, tilting her head. When her eyes opened again, she found the synthetic Ingram repeating the action back at her.

“How are you, In?”

“I’m fine,” She chirped, sitting herself down next to Arakna, checking her wings for any blood feathers, “I’ve been wondering what Vestroia is like, that’s all.”

“Vestroian Ingrams don’t have armoured wings, or reinforced feathers,” Arakna recalled, “so I imagine they don't have to deal with rock falls from the ceiling... that must be strange to imagine.”

“Definitely! But I’m content with staying here; the caverns are nice and homely. And Elfin’s rambling is always a treat to hear.”

Arakna chirped in agreement, craning her head to see Aelia returning with extra clothes, a towel, and Trinket. Her tail coiled under her legs, realising that her stinger could accidentally nick Ingram if she kept waving it about idly.

“Has little Miss got an assigned experiment today?” Ingram asked, gently reclining on her front, her arms crossed over Arakna’s abdomen.

“Not assigned, but definitely one she really wants to do. Apparently, it’ll strengthen her electrokinesis, and it's a proven one.”

“Ooh… Our little battery, then?” Ingram joked, to which Arakna giggled.

“Of course.”

Aelia measured the barrels she had spare, finding the first one to be a perfect fit for her. Aelia dragged it to where she needed it to be, preparing the bath with help of her scientists. The scientists headed off to their separate tasks, as Aelia dragged the barrel up to her office, both for the sake of privacy, and for the sake of having a shower to hand for the cold rinse. But first, she needed to heat the bath.

Aelia waited patiently, setting up a platform to make getting in easier. Once her hair had been adequately bound to the top of her head, Aelia slowly levered herself in; first her legs, then her lower torso, then everything but her neck and head. Setting the timer on the side of the barrel for 10 minutes, Aelia waited. By the chasms, did it feel weird. Looking at her arms through the purple tinted liquid, if she waved them while submerged, the liquid would iridescently shimmer green, and sometimes pink. Her claws started to look black, and her hooves seemed to look much more golden. Aelia paid it no mind; it wasn't painful, so it didn't bother her. She'd have to note the changes down into the book, though.

Aelia twisted her body around, just enough to look at the mirror, hung near her desk, to notice her horns had gotten the same golden hue. Aelia thought it looked cute, eyes sparkling.

The timer beeped and cheeped, signalling to Aelia to get out of the container. Aelia yawned, and hoisted herself out, back onto the platform. The fumes seemed to cause sleepiness, Aelia noted, padding through to the wet room to rinse herself off, shutting the door tightly so as to not disturb the alarm. Rinsing herself off was much weirder looking than anticipated, as shards of grey fell off her legs, onto the floor below. Aelia blinked at them listlessly, continuing nevertheless, pausing only to look at how the shards formed. They seemed to crack off in diamond shaped shards, she noticed.

Turning off the shower, Aelia looked around, spotting the towels and extra clothes she’d brought with her on the stools, who were only really there to act as makeshift tables. Picking up the towels, Aelia dried herself off, watching the condensation on the mirror fade away. Her skin felt smooth now, and she death rattled at a deep pitch, contented. Aelia picked up her spare clothes, a simple black dress, white petticoat, a purple hoodie for the sake of pockets, purple cuffs, black stirrup leggings, and black boots, with holes for her hooves to fit through.

Now that she thought about it, the hoof-holeless boots of the twelve orders always filled her with confusion; wouldn’t that hurt? Wouldn't it squeeze on their hooves? Wouldn't it feel weird?

Shaking her head, Aelia wrapped the arms of her hoodie around her waist. It mustn’t be, if they’re willing to wear them all day. Or maybe it was a status thing… regardless, Aelia stepped out into her office, immediately picking up and snuggling Trinket. Heading out of her office to see Arakna, she left Trinket on her desk, planning on returning later.

Arakna peered at her, noting the colour difference in her hooves and horns. Nodding at Ingram, who mimicked Arakna’s replacement for a smile, Arakna donned her ball form, and headed for Aelia’s shoulder.

“Let’s go and grab the book, and then we can—” Aelia rambled, cut off by the guard who opened the lab door.

“Dr Kazarina is requesting your presence. She’s managed to rebuild and fix a machine, and she’d like an extra pair of eyes to inspect it.”

Aelia blinked, “Sure, give me a moment.” Aelia trotted upstairs, grabbed her book, bookmarked the page she was last on with the letter, and left with the guard to Kazarina’s lab; lab Fehu. Aelia padded into the lab, clutching her book to her chest protectively. And right on cue…

“Ah! Dr Taran, my dear! Come, come! Look at… this!” Kazarina chirped, gesturing dramatically and proudly to the machine. Aelia looked around the room first, the only thing notably off were the eyes of the other gundalian scientists; all golden eyed. Aelia dismissed it, as it could easily be coincidence; gold eyes were common!

Staring at the door-like structure, Aelia reached out a hand, appreciating the bodywork. It was pretty.

“Actually, maybe we should turn it on first. After all, what’s a better way to inspect it than have it running?” Kazarina suggested. Aelia was about to retort, but gave up on it, jogging over to see the control panel.

“What is it, Dr Kazarina?”

“It’s a portal door, dear.” Kazarina casually replied, as Aelia turned the machine on, parts of the bodywork beginning to glow gently, albeit not from heat. “See? It’s much easier to inspect if it’s up and running.”

Aelia cantered back over to the portal door, looking inquisitively at the thing. Suddenly, catching Aelia off guard, a wormhole blinked into existence. Aelia gasped, “Oh! So, it’s meant to _make_ portals? Not link you up to a pre-existing one?”

“Exactly!” Kazarina smiled sweetly, “I have it set to random coordinates currently, for the sake of inspection. We tested it earlier, with set coordinates, and it worked completely fine.”

Aelia nodded, ignoring the comment on the co-ordinates, staring back at the wormhole. The thing was an inky blue, filled with neon cyan veins of colour. Pretty, Aelia thought, very pretty. Her thoughts were cut off as someone grabbed her by her left arm, and someone else grabbed her right.

“U-Uh—! D… Dr Kazarina! What’s going on?!” Aelia uselessly called out, realising what was about to happen as Kazarina stared back, smirking with vitriol.

“We need a test subject for the random coordinates, dear.” Kazarina hissed with cruel cheerfulness, “The co-ordinates don’t go anywhere on Gundalia, Neathia, Vestal… Anywhere we already know of, in fact. Now then, throw her through!”

Aelia, in a futile attempt to both break free and keep a hold on her book, merely angered the brainwashed assailants, but it was far too late.

Tears welled up in Aelia’s eyes, watching Kazarina wave goodbye with a maddened grin of success. Her tiny frame was flung carelessly through, thankfully still able to keep her grip on the book. She couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried, head back to the lab, or just hop out of the wormhole. All she could do was to just make peace with the fact that she was, more than likely, going to die. She had so many assignments she hadn’t done yet. Was the Emperor even going to send anyone to look for her? Did they care?

Aelia was well aware that anyone there, who wasn’t Kazarina, were going to be executed. Maybe self-execute on Kazarina’s mind warping orders. No one would be able to find her. It wasn't only common, it was so common that it was almost expected. And Trinket had been left on her own. Poor, lonely Trinket. Not to mention Ingram and the other synthetically made bakugan... Aelia sobbed, all her opportunities having been ripped from her, painfully. She floated along helplessly and hopelessly. She should've made a comment about the co-ordinates being randomised.

All of a sudden, she felt like she was falling, only to land with a thump on the floor of a forest, surrounded by trees that stretched and stretched. Aelia felt smaller than ever, and was thankfully uninjured, just shaken up from the landing...

But, what sort of forest had a cavern ceiling that was that bright and that _blue_?


End file.
